We’ve all heard about the uncomfortable side effects that come with taking GLP-1 medications: upset stomach, constipation, nausea, hair loss… The list goes on. But researchers are hard at work on a new class of weight loss medication that promises to combat obesity with fewer side effects. The medication is still in the research phase so you can’t pick it up at your local pharmacy just yet. Still, so far, it’s showing enough promise that it’s has caught the attention of healthcare professionals. Here’s what you need to know about this potential new weight-loss drug, plus why it’s got plenty of early buzz.
The new medication doesn’t actually have a name just yet, but experts are calling it a tetra-agonist (‘tetra’ is a Greek-derived word for four) because it acts on four different hormones in the body. Most current weight loss medications target one, two, or three hormone receptors that influence how well your body breaks down glucose (i.e. blood sugar) and regulate your appetite. But this medication, which was created by researchers at Tufts University, targets a fourth receptor. The researchers’ findings so far were just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
A few major things to note here: the drug is trying to help people reach the same level of weight loss success that they’d get with bariatric surgery (with the goal of losing 30 percent of their body weight), but with fewer side effects. To read the full story.